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Abstract:

A thermal module and a manufacturing method thereof. The thermal module
includes a retainer member and at least one heat conduction member. The
retainer has a first clamping arm and a second clamping arm opposite to
the first clamping arm. The heat conduction member is disposed and
fixedly clamped between the first and second clamping arms. The retainer
member is formed by means of punching and integrally connected with the
heat conduction member also by means of punching so that the
manufacturing cost of the thermal module is lowered and the heat
dissipation efficiency of the thermal module is enhanced.

Claims:

1. A thermal module comprising: a retainer member having a first clamping
arm and a second clamping arm opposite to the first clamping arm; and at
least one heat conduction member disposed and fixedly clamped between the
first and second clamping arms.

2. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat conduction
member is selected from a group consisting of heat pipe, heat spreader,
flat-plate heat pipe and heat conduction metal.

3. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first clamping
arm has a first free side, a second free side, a third free side and a
first connection side connected with the retainer member, while the
second clamping arm has a fourth free side, a fifth free side, a sixth
free side and a second connection side connected with the retainer
member.

4. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retainer member
further has a first extension section, a second extension section, a
third extension section and a fourth extension section, which extend from
the retainer member in different directions, the first, second, third and
fourth extension sections respectively having a first through hole, a
second through hole, a third through hole and a fourth through hole.

5. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first clamping
arm and the retainer member contain therebetween a first angle, while the
second clamping arm and the retainer member contain therebetween a second
angle.

6. A manufacturing method of a thermal module, comprising steps of:
providing a metal board and at least one heat conduction member;
primarily punching the metal board to form a first clamping arm and a
second clamping arm; secondarily punching the metal board to form a
retainer member with a predetermined profile; and placing the heat
conduction member on one face of the formed retainer member and applying
a force to the first and second clamping arms to bend the first and
second clamping arms toward the heat conduction member to tightly hold
the heat conduction member and connect the heat conduction member with
the retainer member.

7. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in claim 6,
wherein in the step of primarily punching the metal board, the metal
board is primarily punched by means of slot punch process.

8. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in claim 6,
wherein in the step of secondarily punching the metal board, the metal
board is secondarily punched by means of laying-off process.

9. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in claim 6,
wherein in the step of placing the heat conduction member on one face of
the formed retainer member and applying a force to the first and second
clamping arms, the heat conduction member is attached to the formed
retainer member and then the first and second clamping arms are forcedly
bent toward the heat conduction member by means of punching to securely
hold the heat conduction member.

10. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in claim 6,
wherein the heat conduction member is selected from a group consisting of
heat pipe, heat spreader, flat-plate heat pipe and heat conduction metal.

Description:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a thermal module and a
manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to a thermal module
manufactured at lower cost and a manufacturing method of the thermal
module.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A conventional thermal module is mainly composed of a heat
dissipation base seat and heat pipes passing through the heat dissipation
base seat. The heat pipes are generally securely affixed to the heat
dissipation base seat by means of welding. However, in the case that the
heat dissipation base seat and the heat pipes are made of different metal
materials with different performances, (for example, the heat pipes are
made of copper material, while the radiating fins are made of aluminum
material), it will be hard to securely connect the heat dissipation base
seat with the heat pipes. This is because an aluminum material can be
hardly connected with other kinds of materials by means of common welding
process. An aluminum material can be welded with another aluminum
material by means of some special welding processes (such as argon
welding). However, the aluminum material cannot be welded to a copper
material with different performances by means of argon welding.
Therefore, prior to the welding process, it is necessary first coat the
aluminum-made radiating fins with a coating to facilitate the successive
welding process. Such procedure is quite troublesome.

[0003] In some other cases, the heat dissipation base seat is formed with
perforations or channels for receiving the heat pipes that are connected
with the heat dissipation base seat. In such thermal module, the heat
dissipation base seat is in contact with a heat source to absorb the heat
generated by the heat source and then transfer the heat to the heat pipe.
Such thermal module has a heat conduction efficiency much lower than that
of a thermal module in which the heat pipes are in direct contact with
the heat source. Moreover, the thermal module with the heat dissipation
base seat has a heavier weight and larger volume and is manufactured at
higher cost as a whole. It is inconvenient to install or transfer such
thermal module. Therefore, such thermal module can be hardly applied to
an electronic device with narrow interior space.

[0004] Therefore, the conventional thermal module has the following
shortcomings:

[0005] 1. The heat conduction efficiency is poor.

[0006] 2. The manufacturing cost is higher.

[0007] 3. The application site is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a thermal
module, which has simplified structure and can be quickly assembled.

[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
manufacturing method of a thermal module. By means of the manufacturing
method, the thermal module can be manufactured at lower cost.

[0010] To achieve the above and other objects, the thermal module of the
present invention includes a retainer member and at least one heat
conduction member. The retainer has a first clamping arm and a second
clamping arm opposite to the first clamping arm. The heat conduction
member is disposed and fixedly clamped between the first and second
clamping arms.

[0011] To achieve the above and other objects, the manufacturing method of
the thermal module of the present invention includes steps of: providing
a metal board and at least one heat conduction member; primarily punching
the metal board to form a first clamping arm and a second clamping arm;
secondarily punching the metal board to form a retainer member with a
predetermined profile; and placing the heat conduction member on one face
of the formed retainer member and applying a force to the first and
second clamping arms to bend the first and second clamping arms toward
the heat conduction member to tightly hold the heat conduction member and
connect the heat conduction member with the retainer member.

[0012] The thermal module has a simplified structure and lighter weight
and can be easily directly assembled with the heat pipes.

[0013] By means of the manufacturing method, the thermal module can be
manufactured at much lower cost.

[0014] Therefore, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0015] 1. The thermal module of the present invention has simplified
structure.

[0017] 3. The thermal module of the present invention is manufactured at
lower cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood
by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a first embodiment of the
thermal module of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a perspective assembled view of the first embodiment of
the thermal module of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 3 is a perspective assembled view of a second embodiment of
the thermal module of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the manufacturing method of the thermal
module of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 5 shows a step of the manufacturing method of the thermal
module of the present invention;

[0024]FIG. 6 shows another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention;

[0025] FIG. 7 shows still another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 8 shows still another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention;

[0027]FIG. 9 shows still another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention;

[0028] FIG. 10 shows still another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention;

[0029] FIG. 11 shows still another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention;

[0030]FIG. 12 shows still another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention; and

[0031]FIG. 13 shows still another step of the manufacturing method of the
thermal module of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded
view of a first embodiment of the thermal module of the present
invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective assembled view of the first embodiment
of the thermal module of the present invention. According to the first
embodiment, the thermal module 1 includes a retainer member 11 and at
least one heat conduction member 12.

[0033] The retainer member 11 has a first clamping arm 111 and a second
clamping arm 112 opposite to the first clamping arm 111.

[0034] The first clamping arm 111 and the retainer member 11 contain
therebetween a first angle 113. The second clamping arm 112 and the
retainer member 11 contain therebetween a second angle 114.

[0035] The first clamping arm 111 has a first free side 1111, a second
free side 1112, a third free side 1113 and a first connection side 1114
connected with the retainer member 11. The second clamping arm 112 has a
fourth free side 1121, a fifth free side 1122, a sixth free side 1123 and
a second connection side 1124 connected with the retainer member 11.

[0036] The heat conduction member 12 has a heat absorption face 121. The
heat conduction member 12 is disposed and fixedly clamped between the
first and second clamping arms 111, 112, whereby the heat conduction
member 12 and the retainer member 11 together form an integral body. The
heat absorption face 121 is in direct contact with a heat source to
enhance heat dissipation efficiency and lower manufacturing cost.

[0037] The heat conduction member 12 is a member selected from a group
consisting of heat pipe, heat spreader, flat-plate heat pipe and heat
conduction metal. In this embodiment, the heat conduction member 12 is,
but not limited to, a heat pipe.

[0038] Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a perspective assembled view of a
second embodiment of the thermal module of the present invention. The
second embodiment is substantially identical to the first embodiment and
thus will not be repeatedly described hereinafter. The second embodiment
is only different from the first embodiment in that the retainer member
11 further has a first extension section 115, a second extension section
116, a third extension section 117 and a fourth extension section 118,
which extend from the retainer member 11 in different directions. The
first, second, third and fourth extension sections 115, 116, 117, 118
respectively have a first through hole 1151, a second through hole 1161,
a third through hole 1171 and a fourth through hole 1181. Four fastening
members 4 (such as screws) are respectively correspondingly passed
through the through holes to fix the retainer member 11 on a chassis 5.

[0039] Please refer to FIGS. 4 to 13. FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the
manufacturing method of the thermal module of the present invention.
FIGS. 5 to 13 show the steps of the manufacturing method of the thermal
module of the present invention. Also with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2,
the manufacturing method of the thermal module of the present invention
includes steps of:

[0040] S1: providing a metal board and at least one heat conduction
member, a metal board 2 and a heat conduction member 12 being provided,
the heat conduction member 12 being a member selected from a group
consisting of heat pipe, heat spreader, flat-plate heat pipe and heat
conduction metal, in this embodiment, the heat conduction member 12
being, but not limited to, a heat pipe;

[0041] S2: primarily punching the metal board to form a first clamping arm
and a second clamping arm, the metal board 2 being placed on a punching
machine 3 and primarily punched by means of slot punch process to form
the first and second clamping arms 111, 112;

[0042] S3: secondarily punching the metal board to form a retainer member
with a predetermined profile, the metal board 2 being secondarily punched
with a punch head 31 of the punching machine 3 by means of laying-off
process under a high-speed punching force along the predetermined profile
of the retainer 11 to achieve the retainer 11; and

[0043] S4: placing the heat conduction member on one face of the formed
retainer member and applying a force to the first and second clamping
arms to bend the first and second clamping arms toward the heat
conduction member to tightly hold the heat conduction member and connect
the heat conduction member with the retainer member, the heat conduction
member 12 being attached to the formed retainer member 11, the first and
second clamping arms 111, 112 being then forcedly bent toward the heat
conduction member 12 by means of punching to securely hold the heat
conduction member 12, alternatively, the first and second clamping arms
111, 112 being then manually forcedly bent toward the heat conduction
member 12 by means of a hand tool (not shown) to securely hold the heat
conduction member 12.

[0044] In this embodiment, the punching process is a stage-by-stage
punching process. However, the punching process of the present invention
is not limited to the stage-by-by punching process. Alternatively, the
punching process can be a continuous punching process.

[0045] The thermal module 1 of the present invention has simplified
structure and is free from the heat dissipation base seat of the
conventional thermal module in contact with the heat source. Therefore,
the thermal module of the present invention has much smaller volume and
much lighter weight.

[0046] By means of the manufacturing method of the thermal module of the
present invention, the manufacturing time of the thermal module is
shortened and the manufacturing cost of the thermal module is lowered.

[0047] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present
invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. It is understood that
many changes and modifications of the above embodiments can be made
without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The scope of
the present invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Patent applications by Chun-Ming Wu, New Taipei City TW

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